Re: The President is scrambling for a deal...........as approval tumbles
posted at 3/7/2013 8:28 AM EST
In response to miscricket's comment:
In response to skeeter20's comment:
In response to miscricket's comment:
In response to skeeter20's comment:
In response to airborne-rgr's comment:
In response to massmoderateJoe's comment:
In response to airborne-rgr's comment:
Of course the fact that he was scrambling for a deal before this poll was taken shouldn't have any bearing on your inane title....
No I don't think he was scrambling for a deal before Friday; he thought their would be no blame on him as the WH had worked the PR machine to blame it on the GOP.
Maybe now POTUS is ready for a discussion resulting in a concensus. If POTUS hadn't drawn such a hard line in the sand he would have had a leadership opportuity and his approval rating would be going up.
WOW, you really do just make stuff up in your head as you go don't you.
You're going to post that Obama has made no effort to avoid the sequester before Friday?
That is your position?
It would be mine, and it would be yours, if you were honest.
Trying to destroy the Republican Party does not qualify as trying to make an honest effort to fix the issues with the sequester.
The republican party is doing a fine job of destroying itself without any help. Just listen to any mainstream republican and they will tell you the same thing.
Obama is going to take a hit with his own party on the sequester thing..but lets be honest. These cuts are relatively small in the grand scheme of things. I am still not sure why the self proclaimed right is not overjoyed about the cuts. After all..this is what we've been hearing since Obama took office. I am still waiting for Skeeter's list of cuts that he would make. I was under the impression that he thought he could do better.
By the way..did anyone else laugh at the news report this morning that Washington was shut down because of the snow? Both hubbie and I laughed at that. His comment..? "Washington has been shut down for some time. At least they can't do any harm today."...this coming from a dyed in the wool republican..lol
Generally a good post. However, it is not my responsibility to determine cuts, it is Obama's, and to some extent the Senate and the House.
But, I can do better.Here are some things that I would cut, immediately, if not sooner.
The entire Education department.
would cut social security and medicare, medicaid, but in stages.
(funny, seems like Obama is suggesting the same thing behind closed doors).
I would cut Obamacare. Zero fund it out of the gate.
Cut the IRS agents hired to enforce Obamacare.
Eliminate all foreign aid.
Eliminate head start, a proven failure.
Eliminate all federally funded welfare.
Eliminate food stamps.
Cut everything that smacks of corporate welfare.
Eliminate all senate and congressional upticks for chairmen.
Limit senate and congressional staff spending to 5 times the median income of their district/state.
Eliminate all agriculture spending that pays farmers not to grow crops.
Eliminate all ethanol subsidies.
Eliminate all alternative energy subsidies.
That's just off the top of my head. Given a budget, I would line item it down to about 50% of the current budget based on constitutionality and priorities.
And, after all that, there is one more thing I would cut: taxes. I would cut taxes and level the playing field. Everyone pays taxes at approximately the same rate. kill progressive taxation before it kills us.
Skeeter..I don't even know where to begin. I actually agree with a couple of your proposed cuts...but it's interesting to note that the majority of your cuts come on the backs of the most vulnerable. So..you cut education and replace it with what? I assume you mean at only the federal level but be sure to ask your local school system how they feel about that. Most school systems would not be able to survive without help from the feds.
Also..interesting to note no cuts to oil subsidies...no cuts to our bloated defense budget. Do you know that the books of the pentagon are so messed up that they can't even be audited? No reforming the tax code to eliminate loopholes and encourage domestic job creation?
I'll respond in a similar vein on Skeeters proposed cuts.
Dept of Ed restructure the department and return most of the money to the states for implementation. The Dept should set goals but not enforce implementation of specifics as those are better determined on a regional/state basis. Basic education should be up to the states; but programs like Head Start are good national initiatives.
Restructure entitlements and tie them directly to FICA and Medicare Taxes in other words make them self sufficient and fund then separately from the general fund. Add some level of means testing so the SS doesn't just help pay for that nice european vacation. Increase the full benefit retirement age to 67 over a 10 year period. Completely restructure SSI and remove it from SS and send it to the General Fund. Restructure and means test Medicare and non-retirement medicaid should be covered by the general fund.
Increase the Federal gas tax and tie it to inflation. The gas tax should fully find the highway trust fund and kept this funding out of the general fund.
This creates accountability and transparency on what we are funding.
ACA a.k.a Obamacare needs a relook and simplication.
Restructure foreign aid to be for aid not costs for defense which should be part of defense.
As part of the general fund completely relook at our safety net being offered through SSI, Medicaid, and other forms of federal welfare. We need a program that is a safety net for the most vulneable, but we also need a program that encourages the able bodied to pull themselves up and out of the safety net with progressive transitional assistantance to supplement working without taking all the support away.
Cut everything that smacks of corporate welfare, like the favorite dem talking point on corporate jets.
Address Congressional spending and insider perks that make millionaires out our elected "public servants". But we also need reforms so that you don't have to be a trust fund millionaire in order to get elected and make enough to support your family.
Eliminate all agriculture spending that pays farmers not to grow crops.
Eliminate all ethanol subsidies, tying food to energy costs hurts the food supply for low income families.
Eliminate all permanent energy subsidies to industry; oil, wind, solar, etc.
Limit start up energy subsidies to sun set at 10 years.
Yes simplify the tax code to put a whole industry (tax attormneys) out of business. Drastically cut deductions and "loopholes" and rates, doing one's taxes shouldn't be a game of brinksmanship. Our taxes should easily be understood by anyone with a GED.
Ensure that the US through policy and regulation becomes energy independent from non-North American sources. This will allow us to restructure our foreign policy and defense budget. May be we don't need an eleven carrier navy fleet and ten or nine could work. Also maybe it's time to rethink the highly over budget and compromised F35 program.
